BenQ W1080ST Home Theater Projector Review

June 16, 2013 - Art Feierman

BenQ W1080ST Sharpness

I’ll repeat this to start: “I expect single chip DLP projectors like this BenQ to inherently look sharp (at least compared to 3LCD and LCoS projectors) due to being the only technology that isn’t 3 panels that have to be converged.”

Once we get past that basic difference, it’s up to the quality of the optics.

I’m watching CNBC (in HD) as I am writing this page. Even the smallest numbers on the screen look nicely crisp. Consider that the BenQ W1080ST to be as sharp looking as most other single chip DLP projectors in the price range.

The W1080ST (unlike the 1070), has a nice smooth zoom and focus, the W1070 I had received was very tight making it really hard to get the focus just right.

Sharpness should not be an issue at all with this projector. Certainly it’s the only short throw home entertainment projector around, so nothing competes directly against it, rather the competition competes with the W1070 projector.

BenQ W1080ST: Bottom Line Sharpness

Typically very good for a lower cost DLP projector geared for home entertainment. Edge to edge sharpness has to be considered pretty good, especially since good edge to edge it’s a little more challenging when the projector is short throw as this W1080ST is.

First this is a photo of one of the DVE-HD test patterns. Red is used to highlight the small text in the images below, and a blue loop shows the alternate black / white 1 pixel line pattern area we show much larger below.

Here are a couple of test images from the DVE-HD disc, showing the handling of incredibly small type, and also showing handling of alternate one pixel wide lines, click for larger: